To wonder why everyone raves about cruises?

[malificent7]

It has never appealed until recently. I thought it sounded like you are trapped to an itinery, on a long , boring journey woth only a day in each place and no space from fellow passengers but everyone I know seems to love them...i am seriously tempted.
So what is so good about a cruise and has anyone actually hated them?
Is the food as good as everyone says and is it relaxing? Apparently you don't get sea sick...is this true?

Have you heard anything about Azura? We are booked on her for next summer. I have heard she is planned to have a refit in March 2025, so have high hopes!

I wouldn’t say I rave about cruises but I went one last year and we all enjoyed it. It’s basically a package holiday on a ship. The food was fine, some restaurants better than others. It didn’t feel crowded. The length of time we had in the ports was fine. There was plenty to do on sea days. Our kids were 14 and 17 and enjoyed the freedom they had to do their own thing. I liked the mix of ages on board. The entertainment was good. Overall it was fun. We are going on another one next year.

And in terms of the environment not sure how it compares to flying but I haven’t flown in 11 years 🤷‍♀️ so I’m hardly going to beat myself up over a cruise.

I haven't heard much about Azura, but if she is having a refit then I am sure it will be brought up to a similar spec as the much newer ships. I.e. less Debenhams/BHS cafe and more hotel/airy vibe. 😅

I mean, firstly a lot of people fly to reach the start of their cruise and secondly those figures on their own mean very little
It doesn't mean little. It might not be a perfect comparison but it shows how disproportionate it is to be as outrage as some posters are here about cruising yet don't seem half as concerned about air pollution caused by flying.

Also I choose to cruise with RCL because of all their initiatives and ecological concerns when designing new ships compared to other companies.

Oh I knew someone would come up with that. But there's precious little point preserving the planet if there aren't any future generations.

Other species are available. The planet doesn’t just belong to humans.

Regarding the point about the boats being eyesores. I think that is a mute point really. Beauty is subjective and a lot of tourist accommodation could be seen as ugly or ruining a beautiful coastline. The thing about these boats is they are not permanent and float away unlike ugly buildings.

Cruising is ace.

I also shop at Temu.

Cruising is ace. My last post suddenly got deleted! I mentioned a huge online Chinese retailer.

@Meredusoleil I went on Azura about 18 months ago. She is one of my favourite ships because I like the Spa pool and Glass House. Azura is showing her age and a refit will freshen her up but fundamentally she is an old ship and will not compare to Iona and Arvia.

I will certainly travel on her again but I am realistic about what I am getting for the price.

We hate flying. We are very unadventurous so they suit us. We have tried a number of ships now and have our favourites. Cruise lines vary massively. I enjoy researching the ports. I plan what we are going to do before we get there so we can make the most of our time ashore. I love sitting on deck and watching the sea. I find it so relaxing. I’ve always managed to find a quiet spot. I thought I’d hate it before I went on one but I loved it when I finally went. There’s a lot of snobbery about cruises. Try it if you want and if you don’t like it you don’t have to do it again.

You have to sit and eat with strangers?

@Nothanks17 No you don't have to. You are assigned a table but you can wait for a table that suits you better, no problem.
I didn't like the idea on my first cruise but it can be more fun than you think especially for the first couple of nights. Once everyone has sussed all the options, people will inevitably choose the buffet, room service or speciality restaurants some nights.

No, you don’t. You can sit anywhere you like. You have the option to be on your own or with others it’s your choice.

Thank you! I just got that from your post 😅 obvs a cruise virgin

Do your research beforehand and choose one which goes to places you really want to see. Pick a smaller, adults only ship - much calmer. I love the fact that you only unpack once but have a new destination each day - your hotel travels with you! Also, you don’t have to think once you are on board, everything is provided for you - very relaxing

I went on my first cruise last month after some persuasion as i’m not really keen on the sea.

We went Cunard on the Queen Mary 2 to Hamburg for two nights. I absolutely loved it. Easy to get on, staff amazing, cabin really comfortable, food great. Just a beautiful ship. Lots of entertainment, afternoon tea with harpist playing, beautiful art deco lounge bars with live jaz to listen to in the evenings after dinner. Just fab.

And I dramatically cut my carbon foot print by not having children. It'll take more than a few cruises to cancel that out.

That's my argument too. I get a free pass on all environmental stuff.

I don't agree at all, and trying to save the planet through non-reproduction is essential a form of degrowthism. We are going to save the planet through green technologies, and to pay for and build all the green technologies, we need young people generating wealth.

I think the biggest threat to the planet right now is that we may not be able to get all the green infrastructure we need built if we end up lacking enough young taxpayers and spending nearly all the money we do have on pensions and healthcare.

Slightly off topic but do you mean you would like the population to keep increasing? And not at any point to decrease

The size of population we can sustain is directly linked to how much that population over consume.

But those without children will depend on the next generations to care for them and run the cruise ships and hospitals and roads and restaurants etc when they are old, so it seems odd to wish them away.

It seems a weird set of priorities to think we should have a much smaller population but those who exist should trundle round the earth on hulking monstrosities playing bingo and gorging themselves silly at an all you can eat buffet

I haven't made a comment on buffet v population but I am interested in posts such as pp who seem to suggest population should keep increasing

And am wondering if that's what they meant

Doesn’t have to be a continuously increasing population.

Staying flat or declining gently would be fine.

The issue is when you get the population contracting and aging so sharply that it creates terrifying fiscal shocks. That kind of stuff will make it very hard to finance and build the green energy transition.

People on average are already having a lot fewer kids. That’s OK up to a point, but if the fertility rate continues to drop, we could be in trouble.